Flour duster



Dec. 4, 1945. E. s. TASCHER FLOUR DUS TER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb.14, 1944 Dec. 4, 1945. E. s. TASCHER FLOUR DUSTER Filed Feb. 14, 1944 4Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 5. s. 7'SCHE? ORNEY Dec. 4, 1945.

1-:. s. TASCHER FLOUR DUS'IER Filed Feb. 14, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 1945.E. s. TASCHER} 2390195 FLOUR DUSTER Filed Feb. 14, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTOR E. 3.7'ASCHER Patented Dec. 4, 1945 FLOUR DUS'IER Eugene S.Tascher, ngleside, Ill., assignor to Na.- tional Biscuit Company; NewYork, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 14, 1944,Serial No. 522,354

13 Claims.

My invention pertains to flour dusters and has fox its princpal objectto provide a means for and a method of applying a uniform 1ayer or filmof flour, of any desired thickness or density, to a sheet of dough or tobaking pans or bands.

Another object is to create a fog or c1oud of fleur over a moving pan erband so as to deposit a film of fleur thereon of a uniform, yet almostinfinitesimal, thickness.

Another object is to provide a new method of dusting fiour on dough orbaking pans or bands so that the depth or thickness and uniformity ofdistribution of the film of fiour may be accurate1y oontrolled.

Sti11 another object is to provide means in a flour duster wherebyexcess fleur, that may be present in the fog or c1oud for dusting thepans or bands, vvi1l be withdrawn and reclaimed, thereby preventing 1ossof flour and its accumulation on the apparatus.

When rolling or sheetng many kinds of dough,

it is necessary to dust the surface tokeep the dough rom adhering to thefeed ro11s and to the cutters. Fleur also is used to impart a desiredsurface coating or finish to some doughs.

It is also customary in baking some doughs to dust the baking pans,after they have been greased, very 1ghtly with flour to prevent stickingand give the desired bottom finish to the baked articles. Heretofore,the fiour has been dusted on both the dough and pans by siftng it on.This has not been entrely satisfactory because the flour can not beapplied uniformly from a sieve nor can it be applied in a sufficientlythin coating on the pans. Heretofore, in dusting pans, it has been thepractice to sift a 1ight coating of flour on them, then turn the pans onedge and jar them to shake off the excess and spread the remainder asuniformly as possible over the pan surface. Whi1e this produces goodresults, it involves considerable hand 1abor in handling the pans andwastes a large part of the fiour. With modern ovens having, endlessbandsor conveyors with fixed pans, there has not been any satisfactoryway or means or dusting a thin uniform coating of fiour on the band orpans, prior to my invention.

The present invention provides means for dusting fleur on either dough,pans, or bands with absolute uniformity and of any desired thickness,even down to a substantially nfinitesimaL a1most invisible, film.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated two adaptations of myinvention wherein;

Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partly in seoton on th line I-l of Fig. 2,of a duster for dusting fleur on a sheet of dough;

Fig. 2 is a cross section, taken substantially ona duster adapted toapp1y the fiour in a fog or cloud to a pan or band;

Fig. 4 is a cross section, taken substantially on the 1ne 4-4 of Fig. 3;and

Fig. 5 is a detail of a gear drive taken substantally on 1ne 5-5 of Fig.3.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the frame of the machine comprises two frontlees or standards 6 andtwo rear 1egs 1, preferably made from 1ight ang1eiron secured to bases 8, 9, a1so made from similar angles. At theirtops, the four 1egs are connected by brackets 10 to a rectangular frameH within which the sheet metal hopper 12 is adjustably supported. Anang1e bar [3, I4 is secured to each end of the hopper and the horizonta1fiange of eaoh bar is tapped to receive adjusting screws l5, I6 whch arerotatably supported in the horizontal flanges at the ends of the frameIl. Theadjusting screws are secured in adjusted position by locknuts IT,IS.

Cross bars 49, connect the 1egs 6, 1 at each end of the machin andprovide supports for bearings 2l, 22 for a shaft 23 that carres anadjustable agitator arm 24 that prevents brdging I9, 25), supportbearings 29, 313 for a -shaft 3l that The shaft 3! ex.

carries a cylindrcal brush 39.. tends beyond the frame at one end whereit is driven from any suitable source of power, .as an e1ectric motorand adjustable speed reduction gearand has a sprocket 33 which drives asprocket 34 on shaf t 23 through a chain 35. The

sprockets 33 and 34 d-ffer slightly in size, as 24 teeth and 22 teeth,so that the ag-tator arm 24 will strike the rotating brush 32 atdifferent places on successive rotations and not produce eXcessve wearat one point.

The hopper 12 is made from sheet metal and is adjustable vertically inthe frame by means of the adjustng screws 5, 16. The bott om of thehoppers sem-cylndrcal so as to fit apProxmate1y the contour of therotating brush 32. In

eaoh end wall, there are eiongated openings 36,

31, 38, 39 through which the shafts 23, 3! extend, se that the heppermay be adjusted with respect te the brush 32. A wide slet er port 43 inthe bettem extends nearly the full length of brush 32 and is covered bya wire sereen 4I. Ihe mesh of this sereen and width of the slot may varyfor different kinds of werk, but I have found that a 22 mesh screenand aslet opening of inch are satisfactory for most fleur dusting eperatiens.The slet and sereen together form a feraminous bottem for the hepper,and a suitable perferated bottem could be used in their stead. Anareuate shutter 42 is slidable over the sereen 4! te adjust theeffective width of the slot 40 and the amount of fleur that will passthrough the sereen. This shutter is manually adjustable by knobs 43, 44and is yieldably held against the sereen 4! by a strap 45 at each end.Each strap is connected at one end te a spring 46 secured te a braeket41 on one side of the hopper and at the ether end to an adjusting screw48 passing through a bracket 49 on the other side of the hopper. Byadjustment of the screws 48, the frictional resistance te mevement ofthe shutter 42 over the sereen 4! can be varied te suit operatingconditions.

A cleat 50, 5! is secured te each end wall of the hepper and supports agrid er guard made from spaced parallel bars er rods 52 to prevent largeobjects or the arms of operators frem contact with the agitater bar 24and vanes 25.

The sheet of deugh 53 that is te be dusted with fleur is carried beneaththedusting brush 32, as by means of an endless belt 54, so that itreceives a shower of fleur through the slet 40. The thickness of thefleur depesited en the dough is dependent upen several variables, all ofwhich are aceurately contrelled. These variables include the speed oftravel of the deugh, the speed of the brush 32, the positien of theshutter 42, and the positien of the bettom of the hopper with respect tethe retating brush. By proper selectien and ce-erdination of thesevarables, the fleur can be dusted en the dough in any desired thieknessand will be applied uniformly over the dough. In Figs. 1 and 2, 55indicates the fleur being dusted en the deugh sheet 53.

The sheet of dough 53 may be eontinuous er it may be in separatebatches. When there is no dough en the belt 54 in positien te be dusted,as When the sheet is discontinuous or the dough is in separate batches,it is desirable that no fleur be discharged from the duster. T0accomplish this and prevent wasting fleur, I previde contrel means forthe duster that is actuated by the sheet of deugh te operate the dusterWhen there is dough in positon te be dusted and te step the duster Whenthere is no dough er When the sheet of dough is interrupted erdisjoined.

Thi control means ineludes one or more rollers 56, of very light weight,secured te a light shaft 51 that is rotatably meunted in the inner endsof control arms 58, 59, that are adjustable as te length. The eter endsof the arms are fixed te 2. shaft 60 that is mounted te oscillate inplates 6I, 62secured te the bases 8, 9 and the lewer ends of the frontlegs 6. At its end adjacent the plate 6I, the shaft 60 has an arm 63adapted threugh the yieldable connection 64 te aetuate a spring toggleoperated switch, within the switch box 65, in the circuit 66, 51 of amotor that drives the shaft 3l through a suitable variable speedreduction gear. I have not illustrated the switch because its details ofconstruction are not part of the present invention and many commercialswitches that are.suitable for the purpese are available and well-knownte engineers. The Mercoid eontrel switch made by Detreit Lubricat0rCompany eperates satisfactorily.

When there is a sheet of dough 53 en the apron 54, it raises the rollers56 and cleses the switch in the box 64 which starts the meter thatdrives the shaft 3l. When there is no dough en the apren 54, the rollers56 rest en the apron and the switch is epened so that the motor does notrun, the brush 32 does not rotate and no fleur is dusted en te theapron. I have f0und a speed of 10 R. P. M. for the brush 32 te givesatisfactory results and te spread the fleur uniformly en the deugh.Higher speeds ean be used but they cause greater wear en the brush andsherten its useful life. Bristles will break frem the brush 32 at timesand pass threugh the sereen with the fleur. Fer that reasen, and alsobecause of its longer life, I prefer te use a brush made frem bristlesof synthetic fibre, such as nylon, beeause I have found that suchbristles disappear er evaporate during the baking period and leave notrace er eiect en the baked articles.

A removable cover plate 68, extending the full length of the hopper I2,gives aeeess te the interier for nspectien, cleaning and adjustments.

The form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 is adaptedparticularly for dusting a relatively heavy coating of fleur to a sheetof dough, while the form shown in Figs. 3 and 4, te which reference isnow made, is adapted for dusting fleur in a very thin film te pans andbands on which the dough is baked. In the two 'modiflcations, the framesand upper parts are alike and the same reference numbers are used teindicate like parts. The princpal diilerences between the twoembodimentsare te be fend below the dusting brush 32. In Figs. 3 and 4,

40 the cenveyor 54 and motor control mechanism are replaced by a band ercenveyor for pans and a second dusting brush er fogging brush.

The brush 69 is secured te a shaft 10 mounted in bearings H, 12 inbraekets 13, 14 secured te cross bars 15, 16. The shaft 10 extendsbevond the hearing 1l where it has a gear 11 and sprecket 18 secured teit. The sprecket 18 is driven by a chain 19 frem a sprocket en the driveshaft The sprocket 80 is larger than sprocket 18, their ratio being 2 te1 er larger, so that brush 68 rotates at a higher speed than brush 32. Aretatable dusting red 8! is mounted at each end in adjustable bearings82 in the brackets 13, 14 and at one end has a gear 83 meshing with thegear 11. As shown in Fig. 5, the ratio of these gears is 2 te 1 so thatshaft 8| retates at one half the speed of brush 69, but it may retate atthe same or a faster speed, and a deflnte ratio 01' speeds isnotessential. The bearings 82, only one being illustrated, Fig. 4, areadjustable teward and away from the brush 68 by means of an adjustingscrew 84 for each hearing. The bar M is adjustable se as te vary thecontact with 11: of the bristles en the brush 69. The bar 8| is movedteward the brush until the contact of the bristles with it clouds erfegs the fleur se as te cause a layer of the desired tenuousness te bedeposited en the pans er bands. When the duster is inoperative, thescrews 84 are turned te move the bar 8! out of contact with the brush sothat the bristles, preferably nylon, will not take a permanent set byreason of their contact with the bar, should the machine remain idle forconsiderable time. As best shewn in Fig. 5, the gears 11, 83 have only afew involute teeth of large piteh which permits the centers of theshafts 10, 8! to be separated far enough for shaft 8! to c1ear the brush69 and yet the gears will remain in mesh.

In Fig. 4, 85 represents either a pan conveyor or an endless band whichis to be dusted with flour. Its direction of travel relative to thedirection of rotation of the brush 69 is indicated by the arrows,however the conveyor or band may travel in the opposite direction.Usually, the lower part of the frame containing the brush 69 is open butit may be enclosed on two or more sides by sheet metal in case of adraft or air currents that would disturb the flour c1oud. The brush 69,as its bristles snap off the shaft 8I, produces a fog or cloud of flourwhich settles in a tenuous coating or deposit on the band or pans. Abroad suction nozz1e 88,1eading to an exhaust fan 89, draws excess flourfrom the c1oud and prevents it from accumulating on the apparatus fromwhich it might later drop in relatively large masses to the pans. Theflour drawn off by the fan 89 is filtered out from the air and returnedto the hopper so that none is lost.

In operation of the duster as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the shutter 42 isadjusted so that the port or slit 40 is open only a small amount. Thebrush 32 scatters the flour passing through the port onto the brush 69which rotates more rapidly. The bristles of the brush 69, carrying thefine1y divided flour, strike the rotating dusting rod 8! and as they1eave it, snap forward thus scattering the flour in a fine fog or c1oudabove the s1ovv1y moving pans or band on which a tenuous 1ayer of theflour settles and adheres since the pans or band are greased prior todusting. A11 excess flour is drawn 0 by the fan 89.

The shaft 3! is driven through a variable speed drive so that the speedof the brushes may be varied wthin wide 1imits. The efective width ofthe port or slot 40 is adjusted by the shutter 42, and the clearancebetween the bottom of the hopper and brush 32 is adjustable. A11 ofthese adjustable features enable me to dust the flour to a very uniformthickness of an desired depth or weight down to a film or c1oud ofalmost infinitestimal thickness, and to keep the rate of depositconstant as long as desred.

I have shown the lower end of the hopper l2 as semi-cylindrical so as toapproximate the contour of the brush 32. but this lower end may be fiatWith proper width of port 49 and control shutt'er 42.

My invention is not 1imited to dusting flour on dough or pans, but maybe used in other arts vvhich require that fine1y divided material becoated uniformly over a given surface as in glazing paper, makingabrasive sheets, and other articles.

The invention is of broad application and use and includes a11 such thatcome within the scope of my claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine of the c1ass described, the combination of a frame, ahopper mounted on the frame and having an elongated opening in itsbottom, a brush mounted on the frame to rotate in the hopper adjacentsaid opening, means for adjusting the width of said opening, and meansfor adjusting the hopper vertically with respect to the brush.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a frame, .ahopper mounted on the frame and having a foraminous bottom, a

cylindrical brush mounted on the frame to rotate within the hopperadjacent the foraminous bottom, a shutter adjustable over the foraminousbottom to vary the eiective area thereof, a shaft mounted on the frameto rotate within the hopper above the brush, and an agitator arm on saidshaftadaptedto contact said rotating brush.

3. In a machine of the c1ass described, the combination of a frame, ahopper mounted on the frame and having a foraminous bottom, a brushmounted on the frame to rotate within the hopper adjacent the foraminousbotton, a shutter adjustable over the foraminous bottom to vary theeffective area thereof, a shaft mounted on the frame to rotate withinthe hopper, an agitator arm om said shaft adapted to contact saidrotating brush, and means for adjusting said hopper ver tically withrespect to said brush.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a frame, ahopper adapted to ho1d flour mounted on the frame and. having anelongated opening in its bottom, a brush mounted on the frame to rotatein the hopper adjacent said opening, means for adjusting the width ofsaid opening, means for rotating said brush, a conveyoradapted to carrya sheet of dough beneath the opening in said hopper, and control meansfor said brush comprising a pivoted arm having means at one end tocontact said conveyor or the sheet of dough thereon, said arm beingconnected to actuate said control means whereby the brush will berotated to dust flour on the dough when the end of the arm is raised bydough on the conveyor and the brush will be stationary when the arm isnot raised by the dough;

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a frame, ahopper adapted to hold flour mounted on the frame and. having aforanhinous bottorn, a brush mounted on the frame to rotate within thehopper adjacent the fora-rninous bottom, a shutter adjustable over theforaminous bottom to vary the efiective area thereof, a shaft mounted onthe frame te rotate within the hopper, an agitator arm on said shaftadapted to contact said rotating brush, means for rotating said brush, aconveyor adapted to carry a sheet of dough beneath the opening in saidhopper, and control means for said brush comprising a, pivoted armhaving means at one end to contact said conveyor or the sheet of doughthereon, said arm being connected to actuate said control means wherebythe brush will be rotated to dust flour on the dough when the end of thearm is raised by dough on the conveyor and the brush wi1l be stationarywhen the arm is not raised by the dough.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a frame, ahopper mounted on the frame and having an elongated opening in itsbottom, 21. brush mounted on the frame to rotate in the hopper adjacentsaid opening, means for adjusting the width of said opening, and adusting brush mounted to rotate on the frame beneath the opening in saidhopper.

7. In a machine of the c1ass described, the combination of a frame, ahopper mounted on the frame and having an elongated opening in itsbottom, a brush mounted on the frame to rotate in the hopper adjacentsaid opening, means for adjustng the width of said opening, a dustingbrush mounted to rotate on the frame beneath the opening in said hopper,and means for rotating said dusting brush faster than the firstmentioned brush.

8. In a machine of the c1ass described, the combination of a frame, ahopper mounted on the frame and having "an elongated opening in itsbottom, a brush mounted on the frame to rotate in the hopper adjacentsaid opening, means for adjusting the width of said opening, a dustingbrush mounted to rotate on the frame beneath the opening in said hopper,and a dusting rod mounted adjacent to said dusting brush in position tocontact the brush on the downwardly rotating side.

9. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a frame, ahopper mounted on the frame and having an .elongated opening in itsbottom, a brush mounted on the frame to rotate in the hopper adjacentsaid opening,-

means for adjusting the width of said opening, a dusting brush mountedto rotate on the frame beneath the Opening in said hopper, a dusting rodmounted adjacent to said dusting brush in position to contact the brushon the downwardly rotating side, and means for adjusting said dustingrod into and out of contact with said dust ing brush.

10. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a frame, ahopper mounted on the frame and having an elongated opening in itsbottom, a brush mounted on the frame te rotate in the hopper adjacentsaid opening, means for adjnsting the width of said opening, a dustingbrush mounted to rotate on the frame beneath the opening in said hopper,a dusting rod mounted. to 1otate adjacent said dusting brush, means forrotatng saidrod opposte to the rotation of the dustin brsh, and. meansfor adjusting said dusting rod. into and out of contact with saiddusting brush.

11. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a frame, ahopper mounted on the frame and having a foraminous bottom, a brushmounted on the frame to rotate within the hopper adjacent the foraminousbottom, a shutter adjustable over the foraminous bottom to vary theeffective area thereof, a shaft mounted on the frame to rotate wthin thehopper, an agitator arm on said shaft adapted to contact said rotatngbrush, means for adjusting said hopper vertically with respect to said.brush, a dusting brush mounted to rotate on the frame beneath thehopper, a dusting rod mounted to rotate adjacent said dusting brush,means for rotating said rod opposite to the rotation of the dustingbrush, and means for adjusting said dusting rod into and. out of contactwith said dusting brush.

12. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a frame, ahopper mounted on the frame and having a foraminous bottom, a brushmounted on the frame to rotate withn the hopper adjacent the foraminousbottom, a shutter adjustable over the foraminous bottom to vary theeffective area thereof, a shaft mounted en the frame to rotate wthin thehopper, an agitator arm on said shaft adapted to contact said rotatingbrush, means for adjusting said hopper vertically with respect to saidbrush, a dusting brush mounted to rotate on the frame beneath thehopper, a dusting rod mounted to rotate adjacent said dustingbrush,means for rotating said rod opposteto the rotation of the dusting brush,means for adjusting said dusting rod into and out of contact with saiddusting brush, whereby finely divided material dscharged f1om saidhopper to said dusting brush will be thrown from the latter in a cloud,and an exhaust conduit having its inlet adjacent said dusting brush todraw 0 excess clouded material.

13. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a hopper forfinely divided material having an elongated opening in its bottom, meansfor adjusting the wdth of the opening, a dusting brush mounted to rotateon a horizontal axis beneath the opening and receive material passingtherethrough, a dusting rod mounted adjacent the rotating brush inposition to contact the brush on its downwardly rotating side, wherebythe fine1y divided material will be discharged from said brush in acloud, and an exhaust conduit for drawing oi excess clouded material.

EUGENE S. TASCHER.

